Out of Goodbyes
by Dominae de Machinae
Summary: A musically inspired one-shot. "It had only been 4 years. Certainly she had waited longer before. Maybe that's why she was able to move on so quickly. She couldn't keep waiting. Not for me. Not anymore. At least she's happy now." R&R


Hello ^^ This is a little something that popped into my head while I was listening to Out of Goodbyes by Maroon 5 and Lady Antebellum. It's a great song and most of my one-shots will be inspired and named after songs. I strongly recommend listening to the song first and keeping the lyrics in mind before reading, but, of course, you don't have to. It's just a suggestion so you can know why the song inspired me. Who knows? Maybe it could inspire you too ^^. This is the first of many one-shots I have in mind. Enjoy!

Out of Goodbyes

It was a new moon night. Lights from an outdoor party kept the darkness from enveloping the whole village.

Edward Elric sat at an outside bar and watched all of the festivities that Risembool had put on for him. As small of a town as it was, they welcomed him home after 4 long years with a grandeur and elegance that he hadn't quite expected.

Looking around he admired the seeming agelessness of everything and everyone. Some people just wouldn't change and that thought made him smile.

Then his peripheral caught the movement of a white sundress and he felt his whole being slump into depression. Some people didn't change… but then… some did. He felt his head involuntarily shift to watch the white mass as it swirled and laughed in the arms of another man. One he didn't recognize. Perhaps from Rush Valley?

She was as beautiful as he remembered. Even more so after 4 years. But the fact still remained that he shouldn't be looking. The ring on her finger should have been enough to make him turn away. But no matter how hard he tried, his eyes couldn't move away from her and the man that she belonged to now.

A part of him almost felt hurt. She hadn't waited for him. He had held onto the thought that she would like she always had and that fueled his own abstinence but… the more he thought, the more he realized how foolish that expectation had been. She had spent a good majority of her life waiting for him. It wasn't her fault that he had left her to wait again and she couldn't be held accountable to wait and not know when he was going to come home. She shouldn't have been made to wait in the first place. He could have very easily taken her with him. She was a beautiful woman and someone was going to snatch her up if she was left unattended.

This was the thought that made him turn back to his drink on the bar in disgust. His hair shrouded the hurt in his eyes as he finished the contents of his glass in one gulp, shivering as it burned on the way down.

Then memories assailed his mind. The way he always felt around her more prominent than any other memory. It was potent and made him dizzy but he chalked that up to the alcohol. It was his own fault that he wasn't here for her but he always expected her to be here for him. It never crossed his mind that she might find someone else. He supposed that was his own hubris. He had taken her for granted.

A finger traced the rim of his glass as he sat and stared at the emptiness that was so symbolic to how he felt. This was his own party and he was a depressed mess, but at the same time, he knew that he had to move on if only to make her happy and not worry for him. She still cared enough to do that much. Suck it up and slap on a happy face. He could do that. He had acted before.

A slight ache in his left leg reminded him that moving on would be a lot harder that he thought. It wasn't as if he could just disappear and try to forget about her altogether. Not only was it impossible but he would need to return every now and then for maintenance.

A part of him idly wondered if he could find a new mechanic but he shot it down before the thought could fully form. His mechanic was the best. He wouldn't give that up. And, yes, he knew the other motives behind his decision. At least this way he would be able to see her. She was off limits now, but she was his first. They could remain like siblings. He could do that for her.

Suddenly he felt a presence beside him and his whole being tensed up.

"What are you doing all by yourself over here, silly? This is your party."

He didn't answer; couldn't find the words or the stamina to muster up that happy face.

"Ed?" her hand touched his on the bar and he shuddered. It was such a small touch. There was nothing more behind it but it still pulled the same response from him. _'Does _he_ feel this way when you touch him?'_ he wondered.

And then she sat next to him and was very quiet. At that moment he felt as if the whole world had fallen away and left the two of them sitting there.

"I'm sorry." She said then, her head down.

His head snapped her direction and he stared incredulously at her, "_You're_ sorry?" He scoffed, "Sorry, Winry, but I fail to see what _you_ have to be sorry for. You're happy now. That's all that matters."

More silence.

Then, "I was happy before too, y'know."

His breath hitched, _'then why…?'_

"I couldn't take another series of goodbyes, Ed. Throughout our entire lives it seems like all we've ever done is say goodbye to each other. I… I just… We're out of goodbyes, Ed. I wouldn't be able to do it again and let you take my heart with you like you did all those other times. So I gave it to someone else. Someone more… stationary."

_Ouch_, "'s your choice." He handed his glass to the bartender who promptly refilled it. The contents were gone immediately and Winry watched the shiver wrack his body.

_He's hurting…_ she thought, _perhaps because he's finally realized… _She stood and moved closer to him.

He was trying to ignore how close she was but she could tell it was harder than he let on. Gently her arms wound around his shoulders and her chin rested atop his head, fingers stroking lazy circles on the fabric of his jacket.

"I'll always love you, Ed."

Another shudder and she had a feeling that this one wasn't from the alcohol, "I don't think _he_ would appreciate you saying that to _me_."

"He knows how I feel." She replied, knowing who he was referring to, "He knows everything."

"Oh." The word was soft; almost inaudible. The silence after that was almost deafening until he spoke again, "I should probably go."

"What? This is your party and you're going to leave it early?" she protested as he stood and her arms were forced to fall to her sides.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling well. I kinda feel sick to my stomach right now." He turned his back to her.

Her head fell and she sighed in frustration, "You're running again."

"Again?" He asked almost incredulously before he dropped it, "Don't worry. I'll come back. I always come back." He threw a pointed glance halfway over his shoulder before he walked off calling back, "I'll call Al and tell him the news. He'll be happy for you."

The wind blew hard against her from out of nowhere and she shivered a little, "I needed to move on, Ed. And I need you to try to do the same." She whispered as her husband walked up and offered her his coat.

"Everything alright?" he asked gently.

"I'm not sure." She replied, "But at least he knows everything now."

"He's upset?"

She glanced at him, "You're surprised?"

He smiled a little, "No. But I am surprised you said yes to _me_." A slight chuckle escaped him, "I was fairly certain that, at least from what you told me, he more or less proposed to you before he left the last time."

"I never said yes though." She pulled the coat tighter around herself.

His arms came around her to aid in the warmth, "Sometimes you don't have to say it to know that it's true. Isn't that how you knew his feelings without him having to spell them out?"

She found she had lost the ability to speak in light of the truth of his words.

Another chuckle and then, "Whatever you decide is cool with me. I can handle being the fill-in during his absence if that's what you want."

"I'm not like that."

"No, you're right. For every other occasion you're selfless. This one instance, I'll let you be a little selfish."

"But-"

"Just think it over. What do _you _want?" He let go of her and walked off in the direction he had come waving over his shoulder, "It's your decision, Winry. I'm just here to show you the way."

Another gust of wind had her shivering, but she stared in the direction Ed had retreated.

"My decision." She whispered, "My choice? What _do_ I want?"

There we go ^^ Read and review plz. I love all kinds of feedback. ALL kinds ;)

3

-Andantino


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